Category: weather

By Janice Barlow With so many disasters happening in recent years, in particular two major hurricanes making landfall in the U.S. only sixteen days apart, almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by one of them in some way. Because of wind currents, timing of the storm, speed of the the storm and it’s strength, I personally dodged the bullet (to be trite). But I may not be so fortunate next time, since coastal North Carolina has a hurricane bullseye painted on it. Many of us have already…

By Tyla MacAllister Category 5 Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean Islands Wednesday. By nightfall at least seven deaths and two injuries had been confirmed. Six of the deaths occurred on the islands of St Martin/Saint Barts and one death was confirmed in Barbuda. The death toll is expected to rise as many areas are still inaccessible. “Barbuda is literally rubble” The island of Barbuda took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma at around 2:00 a.m. EDT Wednesday. The Barbuda Weather Station recorded sustained wind speeds of 119 miles per…

by Richard Cameron TALLAHASSEE, FL National Compass is monitoring another tropical storm coming on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, but this one is expected by the National Weather Service to be headed, not toward the Gulf Coast, but towards Florida and possibly Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Irma is already threatening the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico is issuing hurricane warnings. Irma has been increased to Category 4 with winds of 140 miles an hour – but they could ramp up even higher, to Category 5 and some…

J. Lee HURRICANE HARVEY – ANIMALS IN CRISIS The devastation Hurricane Harvey is creating for human life and property is well known through 24 hour news coverage. Loss of life has yet to be determined as numbers rise daily. Unknown numbers of homes have been damaged beyond repair. The storm has also been a hardship for animals. Surrounding shelters and shelters outside Texas are scrambling to have their pets adopted to make room for animals impacted by Harvey. Many of them would like to help, but they have no room…

J. Lee Hurricane Harvey – Wildlife In Crisis Wildlife, in natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey are left vulnerable unless they can find safe shelter. They become battered, tossed and many drown unless they can find higher ground. Specialized rescue groups have stepped forward to help a vast variety of wildlife. Texas Wildlife Fact Sheet – Including amphibians, birds, fish, Invertebrates, mammals and reptiles Huffpost: Here’s How Harvey Is Affecting Wild Animals – The Houston SPCA Wildlife Center of Texas has been “bombarded” with requests to help injured or waterlogged wildlife, and has taken…

J. Lee Hurricane Harvey – Livestock In Crisis This story is not a commentary or editorial, but a way to feature animals during natural disasters and the urgency to save them. It is to spotlight those who are on the front lines rescuing them. Included in the story are organizations to contact for those who would like to help. When it comes for natural disasters many farmers are left scrambling. Livestock is not easy to transport on a moment’s notice. Due to their size and herd numbers most are left…

J. Lee Abandonment – Animals Left Behind During Disasters Sadly many people leave their animals behind. When a disaster occurs many pet owners probably have no idea how bad a flood, natural disaster or wildfire could get or how long they will be kept away. Evacuations become frantic. Many compassionate owners leave them behind until a rescue can be safely organized. Some are not allowed to bring them so they do their best to leave them in the safest locations possible until they could be rescued. Some just callously chain…

By Janice Barlow It is inevitable that storms and floods will continue to barrage our nation. As I write this, another tropical depression is making its way across the Atlantic in a pattern that is causing discomfort at the Hurricane Center. In spite of all the hype of approaching storms by various media, especially the Weather Channel, now the bedrock of media meteorology, people have become jaded. Folks in potential danger brush off the possibility of being flooded out of their homes, of losing their roofs, their vehicles, their livelihoods…

By Tyla MacAllister Five people have been confirmed dead in Texas as now Tropical Storm Harvey sits nearly stationery over southeastern Texas. Rockport city officials said a man was killed there Friday night when his house burned down as Harvey made landfall. Rescue personnel could not reach the victim because of the storm conditions. Saturday night the Houston Police Department announced the death of a woman who drove into flood waters on the city’s west side. “It appeared that her vehicle went into high water and she drowned as a…

By Tyla MacAllister Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane. The monster storm made landfall near Rockport at 10 p.m and moved very little through the night. Harvey weakened to a Category 1 hurricane by 7 a.m. CDT but the storm is expected to linger along the Texas coast into the middle of next week. At 11 am. Saturday Harvey’s center was was located west of Victoria, moving Northeast at 2 miles per hour. Peak winds were 75 MPH. Victoria has received almost 17 inches…